Southern newlywed Archives - Page 6 of 40

Southern Newlywed: Date Night with Lauren + Kutter

by Emily in Southern Newlywed on October 21, 2016

Any Friday Night Lights fans in the house? (Raising my hand high!) Tami and Coach’s life had its ups and downs through the five seasons we followed them, but it always centered around family and football. Kutter and Lauren are in the same mold, including the ups and downs AND the sweet love story. From a tumultuous start to their relationship to the simple ways they like to spend time together, I loved learning more about these two and their five favorite date nights!

Thanks to Ally and Bobby for these wonderful photos!

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Names: Kutter and Lauren Miller
By day: He is a Texas high school football coach and health teacher and I am the owner and lead wedding planner at The Simply Southern.
Where they live: Currently, Weatherford, Texas about 30 miles west of Forth Worth, but being married to a coach means that could change at any time!
Their love story: I am a North Carolina girl — born and raised in Raleigh. I moved to Texas to go to college for athletic training, and was assigned a clinical rotation with the football team at a local private high school. At my first football game, this really cute coach came up and introduced himself. I wanted to talk to him, but it was against my college’s rules for me to date a coach that I worked under. After much debate, I decided to ask for his number, and then invited him to a football game date the next weekend.

Soon after our return we were found out, and I was suspended from the Athletic Training program at my college. My world felt like it was crashing down around me, but he was by my side through the entire process, and I knew that if we could make it through all of that in the first few months we had known each other, then we could make it through anything. On June 27, 2015 we tied the knot in my hometown. Our ceremony was at 9:30am, followed by brunch, and by 1:30pm we were off to our honeymoon as newlyweds!

Five Favorite Date Nights:

1. Tossing the football. Being married to a Texas high school football coach means my life looks a lot like a scene out of Friday Night Lights. We met on the football field, our first date was a four-hour road trip to watch the Sooners take on the Horned Frogs, and a lot of our dates revolve around football season and finding ways to spend meaningful time together despite the hectic schedule. Some days we take the football and play around in our backyard, or we’ll walk the nature path behind our house with our dogs. Other times we make a date night out of going to scout upcoming opponents! One perk of coach life is that we get free tickets to local football games, so we frequently have date nights to TCU football games. Our lives really do revolve around the sport, and we never get tired of it!

2. Downtown and local eats. We love dressing up and heading downtown to explore. We make a trip out of it, and if the weather permits, always try to eat outside. I love trying new restaurants, and eating local is one of my favorite ways to find the best cuisine. It always evokes good conversation, and I love the small town feel.

3. Camping. Coming from families that grew up camping, I love to tie my hair up and have a relaxing weekend outdoors — we’ll bring the dogs, unplug from technology, and enjoy nature to its fullest. Sometimes we fish at the lake, other times we explore the countryside, but no matter what, we have uninterrupted time for meaningful conversation and to enjoy each others company.

4. Past and future. Between the busyness of football season and wedding season, date nights in are some of my favorites. We love to lounge around with a glass of wine and take a walk down memory lane. I am still amazed by all of the things that we have been through as a couple, and I’m in awe of how we got to where we are. We also love dreaming about the future on these slow nights in!

5. Ice cream. Whether we’re at Goodberry’s in Raleigh or Sweet Sammies in Fort Worth, we love to take trips for ice cream. There’s nothing more refreshing in the Southern heart, and it gives us a good excuse to just focus on each other!

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Thanks so much, Lauren and Kutter! Find lots more date ideas in the Southern Newlywed archives.

Written with love by Emily

1 Comment

Tags: date night, date night ideas, dating, dating advice, Southern newlywed, Southern Weddings

Southern Date Nights | Hollow Hill Event Center November 3, 2016 reply

[…] of weeks ago our wedding planner, Lauren from The Simply Southern, and her husband were featured on Southern Weddings Newlywed Date Night […]

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Gracious Hostess: 7 Favorite Tailgate Recipes

by Amber in Southern Newlywed on October 14, 2016

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The fall season is officially under way in our neck of the woods, which means the South’s favorite fall season sport is in full swing, as well: football!

Appetizers and snacks for any good tailgate need to be easy to prep and carry, and generous enough to feed a large crowd. The recipes here all do just that!

I’ve rounded up some of our favorite tailgate recipes to share with you today (including two from my personal recipe box!), and the Southern Weddings gals shared their favorites, too. Whether you’re hosting a party yourself or looking to bring the perfect appetizer to the next tailgate, one of these is sure to have everyone asking you for the recipe (the true compliment of any great cook).

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Nashville is known for chicken and waffles. To help you pull this classic off with ease, I’ve made my version super simple, with ready-made ingredients. Mini frozen waffles and chicken tenders cut small and drizzled with a warm maple and pepper jelly syrup make the sweetest start to your menu.

You can even assemble these onsite with toothpicks and serve on a team color coordinated tray. (My personal preference would be orange for my UT Volunteers, of course.)

This recipe is so easy to make that this card is more shopping list than how-to, but it’s still a definite pin and save to your recipe box!

Download and print the Mini Chicken & Waffles recipe card.

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When I moved to the South, I quickly realized that all gatherings are required to have a cheese dip of some fashion, and this Buffalo Chicken Dip version is always a hit.

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This dip be baked in the oven and served in its dish, or you can premix it in a dip-sized crockpot to carry with you and keep nice and hot during cooler weather.

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To take the presentation up a notch, try serving it in mini individual glasses with celery sticks. I love anything mini, and it looks so fun presented this way on the table!

Download and print the Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe card.

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Now for a few favorite tailgate recipes from the other SW ladies:

Marissa: My go-to game-day appetizer is Conecuh on the grill. It’s an extra-easy dish with good ol’ Alabama roots. Add some festive toothpicks with flags and some spicy mustard, and you’re good to go.

Nicole: Bacon jam served with mini biscuits! I’m not a sports person, but I am a big fan of tailgate food! I’ve found it tends to get smothered on not only the mini biscuits I usually bring, but the rest of the game day foods, too. It tells me that everyone loves it :) Bonus: it travels so well!

Jess: If you’ve spent just a few minutes around me, you probably know that I’m a big fan of guacamole. Fresh guacamole is always a crowd-pleaser, but I love using the Pioneer Woman’s Grilled Corn Guacamole recipe if I need to kick it up a notch!

Emily: This recipe is NOT what I’d call healthy, but is that the point of a tailgate? No, I think not. Spicy corn dip is delicious right out of the oven, but still great even once it’s cooled to room temperature. You will be the life of the party if you arrive with this dish in tow!

Kristin: Between being able to make it the night before and it not requiring cutlery to enjoy (pass the corn chips, please), this recipe for “Texas Caviar” is one of my go tos for afternoon tailgates (or game watching parties)!

Do you have a favorite tailgate recipe to share? Link up to it in the comments below!

Written with love by Amber

1 Comment

Tags: appetizer recipes, football recipes, recipes, Southern newlywed, Southern Weddings, tailgate recipes

Mary Kay October 27, 2016 reply

I made the chicken and waffles for a party last week and they were a big hit! Thank you for sharing such a simple, crowd-pleasing recipe!

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post. And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads. We love hearing your kind thoughts!

Southern Newlywed: Date Night with Stephanie and Jeremy

by Emily in Southern Newlywed on October 7, 2016

Jeremy and Stephanie’s date night ideas might seem simple on the surface, but upon closer examination, each one has a luxe twist that takes their whole dating game up a notch. For example, instead of just going for a drive in the country (a tried-and-true favorite), they make their weekend on-the-road adventures feel novel by renting a convertible! They’ve inspired me to add a little something extra to my and John’s next date night, and I hope you feel the same way!

Big hugs to Susan Hudson for these sweet photos!

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Names: Jeremy and Stephanie Capan
By day: Jeremy does sales/account management in commercial flooring and Stephanie owns and designs for the online lifestyle brand Winnie Jean.
Where they live: Loveland, Ohio

Their love story: I had recently moved home from Nashville (I was born there and lived there four years after college) and during a moment that at the time I thought of as weakness, I prayed for God to bring a man into my life who loved Jesus and who would love me unconditionally. Two weeks later, I met Jeremy. And, believe it or not, we met on Tinder! (Yes, I’m serious!) We both swiped right, and, as they say, the rest is history.
Their wedding: We got married in Tennessee at the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church (where we got engaged!), and our reception was held at the Appalachian Clubhouse – both are located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I’m from Nashville, and my family goes to Gatlinburg every year around Christmas, and Jeremy has been camping in the Smokies with his family since he was a kid, so it made the perfect location for our destination wedding. That area has been special to each of us separately for years and now it’s a place where we’re making our own memories. “On a Tennessee Saturday night. Couldn’t feel better, I’m together, with my Dixieland delight” was our unofficial “theme,” and it was a laid back, intimate day. I wore a blush dress and a flower crown and I married my best friend. It was literally the best day of my life.

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Stephanie and Jeremy’s five favorite date ideas:

1. A drive with the top down. Our favorite thing to do together is go on a drive. Every couple of months we rent a convertible and take a day to explore. We don’t usually have any plans except the way we’re heading and we just let the day take us where it wants. Sometimes in the evening we just hit the country roads near our home in Loveland. We love the time in the car together and it’s always fun to explore new places that are just around the corner.

2. Eating local. We love to try out locally owned restaurants. Our town is really quaint and has some delicious options and there are a bunch in Cincinnati that we still need to try!

3. Quick picnic. We love to pack up a simple dinner or pick up something on the go and take it to a park nearby and have a makeshift picnic. It’s quick and easy but it gets us away from the TV trays and our cell phones and outside together.

4. Maxed-out movie date. Cinebistro is our favorite way to go to the movies. We love being able to get dinner at the movie and the recliners are so comfortable. We’ve spoiled ourselves and can’t imagine going to a “regular” movie theater again.

5. Pizza at home. We also love pizza nights at home! These usually fall on Sundays because it’s been a busy week, a busy weekend and we are ready to just relax on the couch with our pups and an episode of Game of Thrones.

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Thanks so much, Stephanie and Jeremy! Find lots more date ideas in the Southern Newlywed archives.

Written with love by Emily

1 Comment

Tags: date night, date night ideas, Southern newlywed, Southern Weddings

Stephanie Capan October 14, 2016 reply

Thanks so much for including us in this feature! We had so much fun and Susan was amazing to work with. I never thought I’d have photos of one of our road trip dates but I’ll treasure them forever! <3

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post. And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads. We love hearing your kind thoughts!